can in some cases narrow the field. If between us we can home in on this man, then it won’t matter how we got there. It isn’t a competition. And be aware that I’m not looking for brownie points. I don’t need this work. The pay is cheap.”
“So why do you put yourself up for it?”
“To make a difference. Isn’t that why you’re a cop?”
“I don’t know why I’m a cop. It just happened, a lifetime ago. Let’s start over. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I’m open to any input.”
“Good. Tell me how you think this has affected DI Barnes. It will help if I know where he’s coming from.”
“He’s dedicated. One of the best at what he does,” Tom said, breaking the eye contact and walking to the car. He said nothing else until they were both belted up and he was driving out of the clinic’s gates. “Matt comes across as a hard-nosed individual who doesn’t suffer fools gladly. He isn’t a diplomat. He tells it how it is, and if you don’t like it, he doesn’t give a toss. The slaughter at the safe house has shaken him up a lot more than he would ever admit...even to me. He was the OIC...officer in charge, so in his book he’s responsible. It went down on his watch.”
“But it would have happened whoever ¯”
“But it didn’t. The buck stopped with him, so he considers himself responsible for the baby getting thrown out with the bath water. It isn’t something you can rationalise. You had to be there, and neither of us was.”
“How badly hurt was he?”
“It was touch and go for a while. Another few minutes at the scene and he wouldn’t have made it. He lost a kidney, got his leg broken, and almost bled out. But it’s not just the physical injuries that are paining him. And between us, his significant other walked out on him, which I reckon added to his overall sense of failure.”
“Why did she or he leave?”
“She, Doctor. Matt is many things, but queer isn’t one of them.”
“You sound a little homophobic.”
“Maybe I am. And as long as I don’t let it get in the way of my work, I can choose to believe that God or nature intended sex to be a way for males and females to procreate, and gave them the appropriate genitalia to get the job done. Anything else is abnormal in my book. Grey isn’t a colour I have a lot of time for. I like black and white.
“Linda left Matt because he was a stranger passing through. I don’t think he’s the type of man who has the capacity to be emotionally involved enough for a woman. They want more than he can give. There’s not enough room in him for a permanent relationship. He was army, then cop. He doesn’t see it as a job. I think he’s on a mission. But Christ knows what really drives him. He doesn’t show a lot. It’s all inside...and lead-lined.”
“Thanks for sharing that,” Beth said. “I imagine him to be a lot like you.”
“We tend to see certain things in the same light. But he’s nothing like me. I’ve known him for years, and yet I sometimes think I don’t know him at all.”
“Is he aware that I’m consulting on this case?”
“Yeah. I gave him a bell, to give him time to get his head around it.”
“You mean he’s another non-believer?”
“No. He has an open mind. He even took a course on this behavioural science stuff. You might find he has his own idea of what makes our shooter tick. Don’t mistake him for some plod who doesn’t know where you’re coming from. He’s as sharp as broken glass.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MATT was fully aware of Dr. Beth Holder’s reputation, and had even met her once. He knew that she had developed her own Criminal Personality Programme, and that she was highly regarded as being one of the best evaluators of human behaviour outside of the underground warren below the US Marine base at Quantico: The FBI academy over the pond in Virginia.
After Tom rang and told him that he was driving out to see him, accompanied by Beth, Matt
“So why do you put yourself up for it?”
“To make a difference. Isn’t that why you’re a cop?”
“I don’t know why I’m a cop. It just happened, a lifetime ago. Let’s start over. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I’m open to any input.”
“Good. Tell me how you think this has affected DI Barnes. It will help if I know where he’s coming from.”
“He’s dedicated. One of the best at what he does,” Tom said, breaking the eye contact and walking to the car. He said nothing else until they were both belted up and he was driving out of the clinic’s gates. “Matt comes across as a hard-nosed individual who doesn’t suffer fools gladly. He isn’t a diplomat. He tells it how it is, and if you don’t like it, he doesn’t give a toss. The slaughter at the safe house has shaken him up a lot more than he would ever admit...even to me. He was the OIC...officer in charge, so in his book he’s responsible. It went down on his watch.”
“But it would have happened whoever ¯”
“But it didn’t. The buck stopped with him, so he considers himself responsible for the baby getting thrown out with the bath water. It isn’t something you can rationalise. You had to be there, and neither of us was.”
“How badly hurt was he?”
“It was touch and go for a while. Another few minutes at the scene and he wouldn’t have made it. He lost a kidney, got his leg broken, and almost bled out. But it’s not just the physical injuries that are paining him. And between us, his significant other walked out on him, which I reckon added to his overall sense of failure.”
“Why did she or he leave?”
“She, Doctor. Matt is many things, but queer isn’t one of them.”
“You sound a little homophobic.”
“Maybe I am. And as long as I don’t let it get in the way of my work, I can choose to believe that God or nature intended sex to be a way for males and females to procreate, and gave them the appropriate genitalia to get the job done. Anything else is abnormal in my book. Grey isn’t a colour I have a lot of time for. I like black and white.
“Linda left Matt because he was a stranger passing through. I don’t think he’s the type of man who has the capacity to be emotionally involved enough for a woman. They want more than he can give. There’s not enough room in him for a permanent relationship. He was army, then cop. He doesn’t see it as a job. I think he’s on a mission. But Christ knows what really drives him. He doesn’t show a lot. It’s all inside...and lead-lined.”
“Thanks for sharing that,” Beth said. “I imagine him to be a lot like you.”
“We tend to see certain things in the same light. But he’s nothing like me. I’ve known him for years, and yet I sometimes think I don’t know him at all.”
“Is he aware that I’m consulting on this case?”
“Yeah. I gave him a bell, to give him time to get his head around it.”
“You mean he’s another non-believer?”
“No. He has an open mind. He even took a course on this behavioural science stuff. You might find he has his own idea of what makes our shooter tick. Don’t mistake him for some plod who doesn’t know where you’re coming from. He’s as sharp as broken glass.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MATT was fully aware of Dr. Beth Holder’s reputation, and had even met her once. He knew that she had developed her own Criminal Personality Programme, and that she was highly regarded as being one of the best evaluators of human behaviour outside of the underground warren below the US Marine base at Quantico: The FBI academy over the pond in Virginia.
After Tom rang and told him that he was driving out to see him, accompanied by Beth, Matt
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